After suffering five miscarriages Linzi Matthews and Harrison Wood were hoping their latest pregnancy would bring them their rainbow baby, something bright and beautiful that would follow their heart-breaking storm.

They had even ‘christened’ him Teddy: “Because he looked like a teddy bear at his 10 week scan.”

But at 16 weeks the clouds gathered again: “And we lost our little man,” says Linzi.

“It was devastating. We were both so upset.”

Actress Linzi Matthews together with her musician fiancé, Harrison Wood

Yet, while they faced their heartache as a couple, they did so with the support of The Women’s Hospital’s Honeysuckle bereavement team.

“And they were brilliant,” adds Linzi. “They brought Teddy to us and helped us deal with one of the most difficult times of our lives.

“To lose another child was almost more than we could take, it was so hard to deal with it again.

“But The Honeysuckle Team brought Teddy to us and created a memory box, and we are so grateful to them for what they did and for the precious time they gave us with our little baby boy. It helped us so much.”

Linzi and Harrison with three-year-old son, Freddie

Now the couple, both of whom are in the entertainment business have organised a celebrity-studded fund raising event, Teddy’s Day, on July 31 to raise money for the Team.

“They bring families together, create positive memories and provide much-needed support for parents and families at the worst possible time.

“We are so grateful to them, we want to thank them by raising money to support their vital work.”

Actor Linzi, 41, and musician Harrison, 25, from Crosby, already have a little boy, Freddie who is three and a half ye4ars old.

“I had no issues with Freddie at all,” she says, “a few bleeds but nothing untoward and I carried him to term.

Teddy's 10 week scan

“I went into labour on my due date which all our friends said was typical of me because I’m so organised.

“Freddie was 17 months old when I got pregnant again and it was great, a little brother or sister for him...

“But three days short of 12 weeks I had a bleed and when the Women’s Hospital carried out a scan they could find no heartbeat. Our baby had already died.”

Linzi - well known for her role as Linda in Blood Brothers and other West End roles - went on to miscarry naturally, with what was to be the first of many. She and Harrison lost another child a 10 weeks, three babies in the very early stages - four to five weeks - and, then, Teddy at 16 weeks.

“We were hoping everything was going to be okay this time. We had started referring to teddy as Teddy because of his scan and we were so excited. We went to New York when teddy was around 11-12 weeks and Harrison proposed. it was lovely.”

But when they returned home for the 12 week scan, at 13, it showed that teddy has anencephaly, a neural tube defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull. Anencephaly happens if the upper part of the neural tube does not close all the way and often results in a baby being born without the front part of the brain (forebrain) and the thinking and coordinating part of the brain (cerebrum). The remaining parts of the brain are often not covered by bone or skin.

“We were told that while the pregnancy could go full term, the baby would last only minutes, hours or days. We were asked to consider a medical termination but we were then told Teddy had already passed away.

“I physically gave birth to him then the team cleaned him up and brought him to me in an ‘angel’ pouch. They had put a little hat on his head because of his condition, and Harrison and I held him and spent time with him. It was amazing.

“I didn’t know how I would feel but we were told we could have as much time with him as we wanted with him. At first we were upset but then we calmed down and looked at him. He was perfect apart from what was wrong. His lips, his fingers and his toes were all perfectly formed. And he already had Harrison’s nose - the Wood nose.

“We held him for about 40 minutes before we let the team take him away again. Although it was upsetting, it was lovely too, and we both said we had made the right decision in seeing and holding Teddy. Our little baby.”

The Honeysuckle Team offers support and help to bereaved parents from stillbirth and beyond.

They have a couple of rooms separate from families who have delivered healthy babies.

Linzi and Harrison's tribute to their little boy

“But the rooms are quite clinical,” says Linzi, “so we wanted to raise money to maybe decorate them and make them more comfortable.”

The event, Teddy's Day, will be held between 1-6pm at the Liverpool Marriott Hotel. A family event which will cost £10 for adults and children under 14, £1, there will be face painting, a Disney character entertainer, raffles, auctions*, entertainment from Blood Brothers stars like Sean Jones who has played Mickey. It will be hosted by Linda Nolan whose late sister Bernie had a ‘child born asleep’.

Linzi and Harrison have more tests to see why they have miscarried so many times but Linzi says: “I was 41 in August.

“Freddie is our world and, while we always wanted to have a sibling for him, we have got to a point where we are not sure we could go through it all again. Physically and mentally it’s awful, it’s so so hard. Everytime it happens it just knocks you a little bit more.

“So we will see. Freddie is amazing and we have already had him, we have already had our little miracle. And we thank our lucky stars for him.”

Linzi has set up a Just Giving page for those who can’t make the event but may want to donate .

For tickets to the event contact linzi at linzimatthews1975@gmail.com or call 07730616647.